ISSUE 1614 | April 4 , 2016
The Weekly Digital Magazine for the Active Lifestyle Market
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THE INTERSECTION OF YOUR ACTIVE LIFESTYLE AND CAREER THE RIGHT TALENT IS EASY TO FIND IF YOU LOOK IN THE RIGHT PLACE
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ISSUE 1614 | April 4, 2016
The Weekly Digital Magazine for the Active Lifestyle Market
MARKET REPORT 5 By The Numbers 6 Movers & Shakers 19 Industry Calendar
ONE-ON-ONE 8 Michael Charley Co-Founder, SunSki Resurrecting the iconic styles of Bond, Bullitt and bygone explorers.
VENDOR PROFILE 10 French Connection Vuarnet sunglasses make a U.S. comeback with performance and style. 12 The Dark Side Of Nike Footwear and apparel behemoth gives sunglasses a run for its money.
ACTIVE LIFESTYLE | SUMMER EYEWEAR 14 Source of Shades Summer eyewear brings color to life with a nod to the environment and a touch of vintage flair.
FAST FIVE 18 Summer Is Around The Corner Five sunglasses hitting the trends SGB likes for 2016. Cover Photo courtesy Costa and Jess McGlothlin
Photo courtesy Vuarnet
4 SGBWeekly.com | APRIL 4, 2016
MARKET REPORT
BY THE NUMBERS 6th Store Opened for Sportsman’s Warehouse in California on April 2 in Rohnert Park at 5195 Redwood Drive. This marks the 67th store in 20 states for the retailer.
10 Percent Planned increase of Adidas’ employee base in North America in 2016, company officials said in announcing a recruitment push in Portland, OR.
10 Professional Golfers
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Sponsored by Columbia Sportswear for the 2016 PGA Tour with its new golf performance apparel and outerwear. The golfers include: Jon Curran, Robert Garrigus, Brian Harman, Mark Hubbard, Patton Kizzire, Jason Kokrak, Ryan Palmer, Martin Piller, Shawn Stefani and Boo Weekley.
$790,000 Sent by the Conservation Alliance in grants to help fund 20 grassroots organizations working to protect wild places in North America — including Access Fund, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, Friends of Nevada Wilderness and Wallowa Land Trust.
$16 Million In funding secured by LifeBeam, which makes technology behind wearables sold by Under Armour, 2XU and Lazer Helmets. The investment round was led by Squarepeg Capital with participation from Wellborn VC, Cerca Partners, Atomic14 VC, Triventures VC and a number of key angel investors.
$119 Million Wrote off by Jarden Corp. in the fourth-quarter of 2015, related to impairment of assets due to declining margins at the company's winter sports business — which includes K2, Volkl and Marker — ahead of the entire company’s acquisition by Newell Rubbermaid. Powered By
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Let's Get MOVERS & SHAKERS Adidas teamed with Japanese streetwear designer, NIGO, who is notorious for his wildly outrageous art, house and DJ mixing. The partnership is a celebration of the returning Adidas Originals. Bandier, the activewear retailer specializing in boutique lines from a variety of brands and designers, collaborated with fitness trainers, Katrina Hodgson and Karena Dawn, who work together under the website Tone It Up. BiPro USA joined with American rugby players, Kimber Rozier, Stacey Bridges and Samantha Pankey, in a mutual protein partnership. The trio will be protein ambassadors for the nutrition company. Blundstone shared its foray into the Sonoma International Film Festival (SIFF) and its official film sponsorship of Ithaca, Meg Ryan's directorial debut. GoPro, Inc. welcomed champion swimmer Missy Franklin to its elite roster of athletes. Franklin is the brand’s first sponsored swimmer. GuardLab appointed Blue Jays outfielder and six time All-Star José "Joey Bats" Bautista as a brand ambassador and the newest member of the custom mouthguard company's athlete advisory board. Joshua Newman, the successful fitness entrepreneur well known for promoting CrossFit ventures in the New York metropolitan area, admitted to wire fraud and duping investors, according to an article by The New York Times. Mammut extended its relationship with rock climbing athlete Steph Davis to include apparel. Since 2007, the brand has served as Davis’ hardgoods sponsor. Performance Sports Group Ltd. appointed Daniel M. Friedberg, President and CEO of Sagard Capital Partners Management Corp., to the company’s board of directors. Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank will deliver the spring commencement address May 18 for the University of Maryland. Plank’s alma mater.
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ONE-ON-ONE
Tom Stewart (left) and Michael Charley (right) on a hike outside San Francisco in early March 2016
Michael Charley, Co-Founder, SunSki Resurrecting the iconic styles of Bond, Bullitt and bygone explorers. By Jahla Seppanen
F
or sunglass entrepreneurs Michael Charley and Tom Stewart, the journey to building their radical-styled Sunski glasses started in … kitchenware? Michael and Tom were really trying to make a business out of being outdoors. They wracked their noggins for every potential business — “Use your chip and dip set outside in the sun!” Obviously most of their concepts didn’t make it past the “aha! moment”, but as the duo told SGB, “we’re scrappy, resourceful and pretty determined to succeed at whatever we put our minds to.” And that’s exactly what they did. Sunski lift off in May of 2012, attracting wearers with its pop coloring and durable manufacturing. Since that time, the brand has made
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it through the trenches of Venture Out at Outdoor Retailer, to hold a solid, standalone place in the outdoor ranks, redefining itself and its designs as the trend-maker for cool eyewear — Steve McQueen cool. We sat down with Michael Charley to pick his brain about upcoming trends, category competition and where to spend marketing dollars. We also held an epic face-off, pitting legendary icons and their timeless shades to a duel. What trends will dominate sunglasses this year and going into next? Mirrored lenses are still very much in. We're also seeing more and more low-cost sunglass brands entering the market, and most are offering complete warranty policies
(lifetime) similar to the type we pioneered. And within that affordable sunglasses market, the wayfarer silhouette is still king. Have buying patterns taken any sharp turns? Our customers are getting more daring with the styles they wear. People are first drawn to the style of Sunski because the bright and fun colors really let the product (and the people) stand out. It’s been that way since the beginning. But we take great care in thoughtfully designing on-trend and fashion-forward silhouettes, and our customers that normally wouldn't wear such cutting-edge styles are adopting it in droves because the fun image of Sunski screams "yes, you can wear this!"
How can a smaller sunglass brand take on mammoths like Luxottica? We simply don't. A company like Luxottica has built their bed in the expensive sunglasses market. We are able to outcompete on price, quality, style — really every metric except marketing dollars. The younger demographic also prioritizes authenticity behind the brands they wear, and a monolithic company that licenses and subcontract-manufactures a bunch of other brand's sunglass styles just can't compete there. All the smaller "value" brands are not really competing against each other; most of the gains in the industry in this price point is territory taken from the old established vanguard.
Where is Sunski spending its marketing dollars? Nowhere. Our entire business is driven by word of mouth. Provide a good quality product at a good price that people want to talk about, and the sales make themselves. How does Sunski retain its best millennial employees, when the trend is to jump around jobs? We offer what other companies can't — specifically the best work/life balance you could ever imagine. Tom and I started this business so that we could play on nature's schedule. We extend that benefit to our entire Sunski family. Once you get into the habit of surfing when the waves are good and skiing every powder day, you realize it would take a lot of money and catered lunches to outweigh that benefit. What’s the worst material to make sunglasses from? For frames, the worst material is probably wood. Every material has pros and cons, but wood in particular has a lot of downsides. It's heavy, rigid, difficult to clean and has a poor strength to weight ratio … even though it’s very beautiful. The next step up is cellulose acetate, which has very nice aesthetic properties but has almost no intrinsic structural rigidity and therefore requires additional metal support (and weight). Metal is pretty good for strength and weight, except once it warps or bends it is difficult to get the fit to return to how it was. We believe the best material is still good-old polycarbonate plastic. It was hailed as a miracle material in the 50s and that distinction still remains: light, flexible, extremely durable and comfortable and has a wide range of color applications. The major downside is the environmental harm caused by something that never breaks down or degrades; which we mitigate with Sunski’s unlimited warranty repair policy which keeps our glasses on heads rather than in landfills.
For lenses — that's a whole other ballpark. We’ve been working with industry experts for years to continue to develop cutting-edge substrate and coating technology. But this is all our trade secret. One of your new 2016 styles is almost a throwback to the Steve McQueen Persols. How does pop culture play in your designing process? Fashion is a circular vortex of iteration on the style of particular time periods. Everything comes back again. Well, most everything. We like to take our inspiration from cultural icons that share our own values for style and adventure: Bond, Bullitt, bygone explorers. We find style and attitude that resonates on a deep, soulful level, then use it as inspiration to create silhouettes that have never been seen before. Time for an iconic sunglasses face-off! Johnny Depp’s aviators in Fear and Loathing vs. Keanu’s sporty Matrix shades? Definitely have to go with Mr. Depp's style on this one. Laid-back, hazy, sunny, fun days versus post-apocalyptic human farming? I'd take the ticket to Vegas any day.
Blues Brother’s classic Ray Bans vs. Lolita’s flirty heart-shaped frames? Tom leads a funk band that frequently performs in allblack Sunskis. It would be sacrilegious to side against them. Blues Brothers, final answer. John Lennon’s vintage round sunnies vs. Kurt Cobain’s alien-eye colored glasses? I don't think I can take a side here: Iconic styles of iconoclasts whose creative careers were tragically cut short — I don't even think I'm qualified to have an opinion on such weighty matters!
Sunski the major motion picture. Who would play you and Tom? Paul Newman and Robert Redford. We already figured this one out a long time ago.
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APRIL 4, 2016 | SGBWeekly.com
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VENDOR PROFILE
French Connection Vuarnet sunglasses make a U.S. comeback with performance and style. By David Clucas
I
Vaurnet’s signature mirror, double-gradient-tinted coating glass protects with darker shades above and below to reflect glare, while the non-mirrored central section is slightly less tinted to preserve optimal clarity. Photos courtesy Vaurnet
10 SGBWeekly.com | APRIL 4, 2016
conic French sunglassbrand Vuarnet is returning to the United States. The brand gained its fame and namesake in the 1960s from French professional alpine skier Jean Vuarnet, who wore the shades and won gold at the 1960 Winter Olympics at Squaw Valley. The brand reigned in popularity among those in snowsports through the 1990s and later expanded to the surf world. But after several ownership changes and increased competition from larger brands, Vuarnet fell into the background and out of U.S retailers. Now owned by French and British investors at London’s Neo Investment Partners, Vaurnet is making a comeback in the United States, targeting specialty retailers with its performance story — employing glass/mineral lenses — and style sported by Dainel Craig as James Bond in Spectre. Vuarnet Inc. CEO Lucio Lozza, who SGB spoke with at the SIA Snow Show earlier this year, said he sees opportunity for niche brands to make a comeback in the sunglass market as consumers increasingly look for unique pairs that not only express their lifestyle, but also offer the utmost in performance and durability. “The whole industry is going away from glass lenses because it’s too expensive,” Lozza said. But the material offers superior clarity and doesn’t scratch, he said. “Due to its purity of origin, natural mineral glass does not distort the vision and guarantees high-resolution precision, far beyond the performance of plastic materials used by most brands.” The brand’s signature mirror, double-gradient-tinted coating glass protects with darker shades above and below to reflect glare, while the non-mirrored central section is slightly less tinted to preserve optimal clarity. The glass also remains durable over time, guarding against the degradation in UV-ray protection.
James Bond (actor Daniel Craig) dons a pair of Glacier Vuarnet sunglassses in the movie Spectre.
The elegance of the Vuarnet 02 was quickly adopted as an urban style and worn by celebrities like Mick Jagger.
Vuarnet 03’s gained pop-culture in the late 90s when Jeff Bridges, The Dude, wore the glasses in the cult classic film The Big Lebowski.
Vuarnet produces its glass/mineral lenses in its own factory in Meaux, France, and each lens is engraved with a discreet signature representing the brand’s initial on a ski to help prevent counterfeiting, officials said. The brand’s technology and nimbleness will also allow it to produce ordered-subscription sunglass lenses in 6 to 9 days, Lozza said — something specialty retailers can boast to their customers. Admittingly, Vuarnet isn’t as big as it once was — it only aimed for $10 million in sales in 2015, according to Bloomberg. The brand likely hit its high point in the United States as an official sponsor of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
It’s hoping to recapture some of the glory here in the United States a second time around. Along with some of its re-created iconic performance lenses, the company also offers a collection of new lifestyle designs.
a pair to Jean Vuarnet and cemented a partnership after the skier won downhill during the 1960 Winter Olympic Games. While the 02 model was known for its elegance on the ski slopes, it was quickly adopted as an urban style, worn by such famous personalities as Mick Jagger.
Three Iconic Vaurnet Styles: Glacier – The first created in the 1980s and most-recently worn by Daniel Craig in James Bond’s Spectre, these sunglasses were designed for mountaineers. 02 - Designed and developed in 1957 by optician Roger Pouilloux, the inventor offered
03 - Launched in 1962, the 03 was inspired by the style of U.S. Air Force Pilots with its straight lines and square shape. It regained pop-culture fame in the late 1990s via The Big Lebowski, when The Dude, played by Jeff Bridges, wore the 03’s in what became a cult classic film.
VAURNET EXCEPTIONAL QUALITY, ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE
Vaurnet gained fame and namesake from French professional alpine skier Jean Vaurnet pictured here.
The history of Vaurnet began in 1933 with Jean Vuarnet who was a child prodigy skier. He was renowned for his speed, ability and athleticism in downhill racing. In 1957, Roger Pouillous, an optician and mountain enthusiast, launched the Skilynx lens. The lens was incredibly bright and allowed skiers to execute ground undulations when skiing in white out conditions.
Pouillous’ invention changed the sport of skiing for both the athlete and the recreational skier. In 1960, Jean Vuarnet won the Olympic gold medal at the Squaw Valley Games wearing the 002 Skilynx lens for the race – a gift from Pouilloux. After his Olympic win, the two decided to work together and thus the Vaurnet brand was born.
APRIL 4, 2016 | SGBWeekly.com
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VENDOR PROFILE
Vaporwing Elite Photos courtesy Nike Vision
The Dark Side Of Nike Footwear and apparel behemoth gives sunglasses a run for its money. By Jahla Seppanen
W
alk around any city, gym or airport and you’ll see half the people wearing Nike shoes, but close to zero wearing their sunglasses. While looking into leading eyewear brands for SGB’s Summer Eyewear feature, we got to think … how does a mammoth athletic brand like Nike tackle sunglasses? Nike Vision — the side of Nike, Inc. that has been somewhat left in the dark compared to its footwear and apparel — might come out of the shadows this spring with the release of its new Running Collection, geared at the sport performance consumer. Under the sub-company Nike Vision, parent Nike, Inc. licenses this accessory arm to Marchon Eyewear. Marchon, owned by vision insurance firm VSP Global, is home to a medley of high-fashion and sleek sports brands including Salvatore Ferragamo, Sean Jean, X Games, Karl Lagerfeld, various Calvin Klein lines and more. It’s also known for gaining the first contract to produce Google Glass.
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So why does Nike outsource its sunglasses to Marchon? We contacted Steph Tripi, marketing director at Marchon and Nike Vision, for an explanation. “Eyewear is a specialized product which requires a lot of experience around optics, fit, frame and design. Therefore, it only makes sense to work with the best in talent, knowhow and technology in the industry,” Tripi said. For a brand that continually pushes the market forward in sports footwear and athletic apparel, it was in Nike, Inc.’s best interest to have an established eyewear company take the reins. Marchon has maintained exclusive design, production and worldwide distribution for Nike optical and sunglass collections since 1999, with the partnership renewed in June 2015. But despite Nike Vision being backed by a big-name portfolio at Marchon, Nike sunglasses have been passed over by sports consumers who still devote their dollars primarily to Oakley, owned by sunglass giant Luxottica. SSI Data* shows for the trailing 52 weeks,
Oakley has dominated the Sport Performance sunglass category, holding the majority of dollar shares in the market. Nike’s first top seller in sunglasses isn’t necessarily failing, since the product is up in unit sales, but its average price is well below the average top seller (around $33 compared to around $140). “Without divulging sales information, Nike Vision is a top-three sport eyewear brand,” said Tripi – a stat which was validated by SSI Data*. “Nike’s breadth, reach and appeal, along with it’s reputation for offering premium, quality product, has made Nike eyewear very successful.” Nike sunglasses have made their biggest indent in the skateboarding, golf and lifestyle markets, but if we dissect the new spring Running Collection, we see its pairing of new technology and higher price points puts it in a sweet spot to directly compete with Oakley and other Eyeking brands like Under Armour for a higher place on the sport performance podium. On April 1, the Running Collection comes out from the dark, with five endurance-inspired designs making up the line. Pricing ranges from $145 to $165 for the Bandit, Tailwind and
Tailwind Swift, and $395 for the Vaporwing and Vaporwing Elite. The Collection has been in development since 2014, when Nike Vision approached Zeiss to design a new mold from scratch. The goal: invent a never-before-seen concept for running eyewear while establishing an optically perfect mold. “While we are always innovating to help the athletes see sport better, in terms of design, this collection represents advanced lens and frame design which was not achievable in the past with traditional methods of making in the eyewear industry,” Tripi said. Nike Vision and Zeiss Lens Designer Steve Sprat got into the nitty-gritty explaining, “For decades the strict optical 0.09D standards for sunglasses have constrained designers to use only simple spheres and torics for the optical surfaces in their premium products… Zeiss has adapted advanced freeform design and manufacturing techniques developed for ophthalmic and precision optics to achieve 0.06D optical performance for general complex shaped surfaces.” This extra freedom in mold was capitalized on by the creative team at Nike (Marchon) to
simultaneously optimize the fit, aerodynamics, and aesthetics of their new line. “This collection is just the beginning of a new era in eyewear design from Nike,” Tripi added. He also hinted that we should expect to see the sunglasses on the sports grand stage this summer (Olympic bound?). Nike Vision verified that Nike-sponsored athletes have signed on to rep the new shades. But what’s bigger than who will be wearing the new Running Collection is how many will be wearing them. SGB expects to see Nike battle for a piece of Oakley and Eyeking sales as the competitive pricing on the new line makes its products more attractive. And although we won’t have the sale numbers on that performance for some time, we recommend keeping an eye on whether you see more Nike sunglasses on your next layover or run through the park.
*SSI Data, powered by SportsOneSource, collects and analyzes point-of-sale data from more than 20,000 retail doors across nine channels of distribution. To learn more call 303.997.7302.
Vaporwing Elite
APRIL 4, 2016 | SGBWeekly.com
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ACTIVE LIFESTYLE | SUMMER EYEWEAR
Source Of Shades Summer eyewear brings color to life with a nod to the environment and a touch of vintage flair. By Courtney Holden
Photo courtesy Shwood
14 SGBWeekly.com | APRIL 4, 2016
Warmer weather, longer days and more time spent out in the sun means consumers are reaching more readily for their favorite pair of shades. And they need a pair that fits a long list of criteria. “From serious athletes to weekend warriors and everybody in between, the choice comes down to shades that possess the right balance of performance, protection, style and durability — not necessarily in that order,” said Barbara Rodriguez, eyewear marketing manager for Bollé. The sale of sunglasses at industry retailers has dipped in the trailing 52 weeks — down 8 percent in units, but just 1 percent in dollars, according to the latest SSI Data*, through March 19, 2016. That suggests while consumers bought fewer sunglasses during the past year, they were still willing to pay a decent price for sunglasses that they did purchase. Sales strength were within the category during the past year continues to come from the higher-priced polarized and performance lenses over fashion-oriented models, SSI Data* shows. Looking ahead to this summer, consumers will get a chance to see the world both a little brighter — thanks to color-enhanced lenses — and a bit clearer with the prevalence of anti-fog, anti-glare and anti-smudge lens coatings. The environment will see benefits as more brands turn to castor-based, rather than petroleumbased, resins in frames and lenses. In aesthetics, there’s a movement toward dual-purpose shades that perform on the trail while also looking chic enough for the street—often thanks to vintage flair. Color Cues Brands are getting creative with color — but we aren’t talking about the frames. More and more companies are introducing their own spin on color-enhanced lenses. And for good reason. “Manufacturing and vision research technology has advanced incredibly over the last threeto-five years, allowing brands to really define visual performance characteristics way beyond what was traditionally available,” said Eric Carlson, global design and marketing director at Smith. “Following the wide-spread appreciation for polarized lenses to reduce or eliminate glare, color enhancing or color managing lenses are the next wave of demonstrable technology from a consumer standpoint.” So how does it work? According to Costa Sunglass Vice President of Product Development, John Sanchez, light waves bouncing off
Photo courtesy Smith
Photo courtesy Costa and Jess McGlothlin
different surfaces, combined with highly variable outdoor light conditions, effects how the eye’s photoreceptors (or light receptors) adjust. Color-enhanced lenses are formulated to balance that scattered light to provide what’s arguably an optimized visual experience of “truer” blues, reds and greens. How brands achieve that balance of scattered light varies. Native Eyewear uses a trilaminate frame construction that it claims withstands adventurous use better than traditional painted treatments. Smith embeds its ChromaPop technology into the lens to ensure consistency and durability. And Costa fuses proprietary “earth
elements” into its lenses when the glass is being melted and cured for polishing. Spy Optic calls itself the “first and only” brand to use color- and contrast-enhancing technology to boost the user’s mental state. The brands proprietary Happy Lens is designed to allow the suns “good,” long-wave blue light rays in, while blocking the suns “bad,” short-wave blue light and UV rays. “Research indicates that exposure through the eyes to these ‘good’ rays brings about a number of positive physiological changes, including elevated mood and increased alertness,” said the brand’s Senior Eyewear Designer, Keith Asher. APRIL 4, 2016 | SGBWeekly.com
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A Fresh Coat Lens coatings of all types will feature prominently on this year’s summer eyewear. Polarized lenses of course are a staple, especially among anglers. Inner lens anti-fog treatments that disperse condensation have grown in popularity, too. “Sunglasses need to fit the face well and to remain fog-free for people to grab them every day and to use them without thought,” said Andrew Gerlach, president of Bliz Active Eyewear America. Also keep an eye out for anti-glare treatments that absorb reflected light approaching the eye at an angle, as well as hydrophobic and oleophobic antismudge treatments that cause water to bead and form a barrier against oils. In aesthetics, a mirrored coating on the lens continues to be popular especially among younger consumers. Natural-born Fillers A host of brands are turning to ecofriendly, plant-based materials to fill in for heavier-impact substances like petroleum. Often that means using a castorbased resin for frames and lenses. Mike Lewis, director of brand activation and digital strategy at Zeal Optics, pointed out that using these materials allows consumers to have their cake and eat it too. “When you hear ‘sustainable materials’ or ‘more environmentally friendly,’ everybody thinks that there’s going to be a trade-off, whether it’s price or quality,” he said. “But in the development that we’ve done, this material is lighter … it lasts just as long, and the optics of the lenses are actually better. And, they’re at a very similar price-point to a typical polycarbonate lens.” And the benefits don’t stop with the materials. For Costa at least, incorporating a bio-based resin into the frame construction helped reduce manufacturing process emissions by up to 40 percent. Shwood takes a slightly different approach to the environmental trend by incorporating natural materials like pheasant feather and sugar bush flowers. Through an in-house casting process, the materials are processed to create natural texture and colors on the exterior of their Stabilized Series frames. 16 SGBWeekly.com | APRIL 4, 2016
Photo courtesy Bliz Active Eyewear
Photo courtesy Sunski
Fashion Meets Function The athleisure movement that’s dominated lifestyle apparel for the past two seasons isn’t finished yet. Now the trail-to-town trend is infiltrating the eyewear scene. “You can look good in the outdoors and you don’t have to sacrifice performance,” said Tom Stewart, co-founder at Sunski. “You can also have high quality glasses in the city.” These fashion-forward, yet adventure-ready sunglasses tend to feature rubberized temples and nose pieces that make the shades more comfortable for extended use. They also merge traditionally style-focused frame silhouettes (think square or round shapes, rather than the sleeker, face-fitting frames) with high-performance lenses. Some brands point to the economic advantage as the reason for the trend — after all, a quiver of one is less expensive than buying multiple pairs — but others say consumers are looking to incorporate their day-to-day fashion habits into the items they wear during athletic endeavors. “More and more people prefer to be recognized by their personal style rather than a style set by an individual sport,” said Nick Yardley, U.S. CEO for Julbo. “It's not so cool to look like you're a hardcore, niche athlete. Better to be the
young, cool athlete who goes out and blows away the pros — and if you can't blow them away, just leave them guessing.” Blast From The Past Brands are still sifting through their archives in search of eyewear inspiration, as seen in the continued popularity of vintage styles. These simple silhouettes use shape to add character rather than the sparkle or jewel embellishments found in seasons past. Keep an eye out for natural, subdued tones and keyhole nose bridges. Metal aviators à la Tom Cruise in Top Gun remain best sellers in the wire segment. Another standard feature of vintage style: lenses with little to no curve. But while that characteristic may look très chic, it means diminished coverage since light can enter in through the exposed sides. As Tom Fox, vice president of research and development for Optic Nerve, sees it though, “that’s the only real drawback [of vintage-style frames] … and it’s being overlooked for fashion.” *SSI Data, powered by SportsOneSource, collects and analyzes point-of-sale data from more than 20,000 retail doors across nine channels of distribution. To learn more call 303.997.7302.
Photo courtesy Zeal Optics
APRIL 4, 2016 | SGBWeekly.com
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FAST FIVE
Summer Is Around The Corner Five sunglasses hitting the trends SGB likes for 2016. By Courtney Holden
Julbo Drift Campers, mountain bikers and anglers can head straight from the backcountry to the brewery patio without changing their shades thanks to the versatile Drift, $180, from Julbo. Its wide field of vision, rubberized temples and no-slip rubberized nose piece provide coverage and comfort for long days out on the trail, while thicker, stylized temples offer a touch of class when strutting through the city. Zebra lenses provide technical, photochromic performance, darkening from category 1 to category 3 in less than 26 seconds in direct sunlight.
Peppers Princeton Extra lens coatings give the Princeton, $125, a member of Peppers’ Epic Handbuilt Collection, a leg-up on the competition. The model’s ultra-thin, polycarbonate polarized lens features both an anti-reflective and hydrophobic coating to repel harsh reflections, water and dust. A hand-built Mazzucchelli acetate frame and Como-Tech Italian spring hinges round out the package.
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Costa Motu Sure the Motu, $169, frame style from Costa is eco-friendly — but it’s so much more than that. Composed of a nearly-indestructible bio-based resin material sourced from the castor plant, the frames have increased durability, decreased weight and can hold their shape from extremely hot to bitterly cold temperatures. Thank you Mother Nature! In addition, by incorporating this bio-based resin frame construction, Costa reduces its manufacturing process emissions by up to 40 percent. You’re welcome Mother Nature!
Smith Founder and Founder Slim A vintage-inspired square lens shape, subtle keyway nose detail and classic silhouette define Smith’s Founder and Founder Slim, $99, sunglasses. These shades also give a nod to sustainability with their eco-friendly Evolve frames. Look for them with impact-resistant carbonic lenses and color-enhancing ChromaPop polarized lenses. Both the Founder and the Founder Slim incorporate sport-inspired detailing, Megol nose pads and auto-lock hinges.
Spy Optic Whistler Mood and color-enhancing optics? Yes please. The Happy Lens technology found in Spy Optic’s Whistler, $120, model admits the sun’s “good” rays — namely long-wave blue light believed to lift mood and alertness — while blocking the sun’s “bad,” short-wave blue light and UV rays. These scratchresistant, polarized lenses also boost the brightness of colors and improve contrast. More reasons to Whistler while you work: Its lightweight, monal alloy composition, sturdy five-barrel hinges and 100-percent UV protection.
INDUSTRY CALENDAR
TRADE ASSOCIATIONS BUYING GROUPS Athletic Dealers of America 1395 Highland Avenue Melbourne, FL 32935 t 321.254.0091 athleticdealersofamerica.com National Shooting Sports Foundation Flintlock Ridge Office Center 11 Mile Hill Road Newtown, CT 06470 t 203.426.1320 nssf.org National Sporting Goods Association 1601 Feehanville Drive I Suite 300 Mount Prospect, IL 60056 t 847.296.6742 nsga.org Nation’s Best Sports 4216 Hahn Blvd. Ft. Worth, TX 76117 t 817.788.0034 nbs.com Outdoor Industry Association 4909 Pearl East Circle I Suite 300 Boulder, CO 80301 t 303.444.3353 outdoorindustry.org
Photo courtesy Shwood
MARCH
JULY
15-16 SFIA National Health Through Fitness Day Washington, D.C. 17-19 Imprinted Sportswear Show (ISS) Atlantic City, NJ 21-24 IHRSA Orlando, FL
13-17 IDEA World Fitness Convention Los Angeles, CA
APRIL 1-2 SFIA Litigation & Risk Management Summit New Orleans, LA 12 SFIA/NFHS/NCAA Rules Conference Indianapolis, IN 19-21 Imprinted Sportswear Show (ISS) Nashville, TN
AUGUST 3-6
Outdoor Retailer Summer Market Salt Lake City, UT
11-13
Sports Inc. Outdoor Show Minneapolis, MN
21-23 Interbike Las Vegas, NV 25-28 NBS Fall Market Fort Worth, TX
MAY
OCTOBER
22-25 NSGA Management Conference and Team Hilton Head Island, SC
20-23 ADA Fall Buying Show Charlotte, NC
JUNE 3-5
SGB 40 Under 40 Awards St. Julien Hotel, Boulder, CO
9-10
The Running and Fitness Event For Women Chicago, IL
13-17
Grassroots Spring Summit & Connect Albuquerque, NM
28-30 ADA Fall Buying Show Phoenix, AZ NOVEMBER 7-11
Grassroots Fall Summit & Connect Knoxville, TN
17-19
Athletic Business Conference & Expo Orlando, FL
Sports & Fitness Industry Association 8505 Fenton Street I Suite 211 Silver Spring, MD 20910 t 301.495.6321 sfia.org Snow Sports Industries America 8377-B Greensboro Drive McLean, VA 22102 t 703.556.9020 snowsports.org Snowsports Merchandising Corp. 235 Cadwell Drive Springfield, MA 01104 t 413.739.7331 Snowsportsmerchandising.com Sports, Inc. 333 2nd Avenue North Lewistown, MT 59457 t 406.538.3496 sportsinc.com Sports Specialists Ltd. 590 Fishers Station Drive I Suite 110 Victor, NY 14564 t 585.742.1010 sportsspecialistsltd.com Tennis Industry Association 1 Corpus Christi Place I Suite 117 Hilton Head Island, SC 29928 t 843.686.3036 tennisindustry.org Worldwide 8211 South 194th Kent, WA 98032 t 253.872.8746 wdi-wdi.com
23-25 Sports Inc. Athletic Show Minneapolis, MN APRIL 4, 2016 | SGBWeekly.com
19
EVENT SPONSORSHIP
St. Julien Hotel & Spa | June 3-5| Boulder, CO
Shorebreak Hotel • June 12-14 |•720.406.8218 Huntington Beach, CA 900 Walnut Street | Boulder, CO 80302 | STJULIEN.COM
PLATINUM SPONSORTHE HONORING
• One Full Page Ad inBEST SGB INDUSTRY'S Magazine Spring Issue • Company logo listed in all YOUNG TALENT sponsor related materials • Two tickets to all events
SportsOneSource • One hotel room Fridayand and Saturday are nightpleased SGB Magazine to announce the 9th Annual Sponsor 40 Under Investment 40 Awards. $10,000 The 40 Under 40 Awards Weekend will take place June 3-5 at The St. Julien Hotel & Spa. GOLD SPONSOR Honoree Names and Event Details will be • Half-page Ad in SGB Magazine Spring Issue announced shortly. • Company logo listed in all sponsor related materials Contact Teresa • One ticket to allHartford events • One hotel roomor Friday and at 704.651.5741 teresa@ Saturday night
sportsonesource.com for more Investment details. Sponsor
$5,000
Powered By Book Your Sponsorship Package Today for the 2015 SGB 40Under40 Awards Weekend
Contact SGB Media Associate Publisher Katie O’Donohue at 828.244.3043 or katieo@SportsOneSource.com Powered By
SportsOneSource.com | 303.997.7302 SGB40UNDER40.COM